Bulk (and therefore weight) might be a problem, and I'm not convinced by the 'chimney' theory of ventilation either.

The fundamental idea is good, but I'd want to try the implementation before I bought one, and see whether early adopters had there brains fried on hot days. I wonder what angle of tilt you've got with your head in order to see the road.

Still I guess it beats strapping a periscope to the top of your head

Richard

Currently riding an MTB with a split personality - commuting, touring, riding for the sake of riding, on or off road :)

Unless I have missed something in the sketchy product description, they have not accommodated for variation in head tilt. Yes, I would insist on a thorough test-drive before purchasing one.

I have thought about a system using Virtual Vision heads-up display projection sunglasses, a cheap TV camera (e.g. a computer webcam), and a short-range, low-power wireless interface; given the historic rate of decline in the price of electronic components, this should become economically feasible in the near future. Such a system would be more complex than a purely optical one, but extremely adaptable, particularly if equipped with a rudimentary image processor for pan, zoom, light level adaptation, etc.

um, I guess no one noticed that if you tilted your head down, the sun would hit the mirror and blind you temporarly... guess it's not a big issue but, if you forgot and tilted down you could get into some trouble no?

-VegasCyclist"Daddy made whiskey and he made it well.... cost two dollars and it burned like hell...."Register!

I made some sketches several years ago of a pair of glasses that used an array of fibre optic cables to condense a 360º view into the view range of the eye. It would have looked VERY weird both from the inside and outside, and I'm not sure how much light would actually get through but it would be a cool experiment. Accurate manufacture would have been a real problem for the homebuilder too, so I never took it further.

The idea came about when I was thinking about another experiment that you've probably heard of. Apprently if you wear a pair of glasses that turns everything upside down for long enough, the brain learns to compensate, and the upside down view looks normal. When the glasses are finally taken off everything looks upside down again. I began to wonder if a similar effect would occur with glasses that provided a 360º view, and proceeded to design them. I still think it'd be a cool experiment.

For practicality in biking, something similar could be quite useful, but a 180º view would probably be sufficient. They're probably not necessary as such, but a neat gimmick nonetheless - much like the periscope helmet and the moon saddle.

Personally, I've never found the need for a mirror - I did try a helmet mirror briefly, but it was impossible to adjust into a satisfactory position, and was too tiny and wobbly to be of any use if I did. Shoulder checks are still necessary anyway - all the mirror did was to distract me from the view in front, which is MUCH more important to pay attention to.

Originally posted by VegasCyclist um, I guess no one noticed that if you tilted your head down, the sun would hit the mirror and blind you temporarly... guess it's not a big issue but, if you forgot and tilted down you could get into some trouble no?

Then again a rear view of the sky would be VERY useful in magpie season over here. If they could incorporate some crosshairs and a built in squirt gun filled with ammonia they could sell thousands in this country.

Maybe I'm paranoid but the last thing I want inside my helmet is a heap of glass mirrors. Imagine the mess if you crashed and were unfortunate enough to crack the helmet, there would be glass everywhere. Besides even with a mirror system you would still have to turn your head to check the blind spots when changing lanes, just like your supposed to do in a car.

Personally I couldn't ride with ANY mirror, it would distract me and I would start to take watch vehicles coming up from behind wondering whether they were going to miss me. In the city this would leave very little time to actually look forward and enjoy the ride.

As for helmet mirrors-if they are wobbly, but a dab of some sticky substance in the socket! (tubular glue works for me)
If it were not for my helmet mirror, I probably would've been flattened by that psychopathic driver last week. I always ride with a mirror. It's saved my @$$ more than once.

Same old problem with mirrors, totally useless when the sun is behind you (early morning, late afternoon etc). Personally I'd prefer to just make a habit of turning my neck, which gives a better view at all times anyway.